At least some Pentagon officials believe the Iranians have snared the RQ-170 Sentinel drone that evaporated into thin air a week ago. It apparently disappeared over eastern Iran while sniffing around Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, and later allegedly appeared on Iranian TV.

Amid lots of recent talk about “taking out” Iran’s nuclear program with a barrage of military strikes, what’s interesting about the downed drone is the U.S. military’s inability – or at least unwillingness – to say publicly that Iran has the RQ-170 in its possession. It should give pause to the notion that the U.S. military is omniscient, and could pinpoint what to attack if it elected to go after Iran’s atomic program kinetically.

Or, per this exchange Thursday at a press briefing conducted by a pair of Pentagon spokesmen:

Q: Is the drone you reported missing still missing?

Captain John Kirby, Pentagon military spokesman: We haven’t recovered the drone that we believe is missing.

Q: Have you asked anyone for it back?

George Kirby, Pentagon civilian spokesman: I’m unaware of any request for the return of a UAV that went missing.